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Published: August 6th 2007
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The King of the Biscuits
Just along the road from our house is the world famous Tunnocks factory. They have a Tea Room and a shop selling every concievable type of cake, biccie and bread. Also they do lunches and we are advised by some long standing locals that the best Macaroni Cheese in the universe is served here! Its been flippin ages since we updated our page here, and there's a really good reason for this..............we basically haven't had the time as we've been running about like blue arsed flies looking after our new baby daughter Beth. The last we saw you here was at our friends Craig n Morverns' wedding way back in autumn of 2006, and from that point on, Shaz just kept on getting bigger and bigger and bigger, till she finally exploded and and out popped a little baby girl! Awww, bless! Beth was born on the 23rd January - 4 weeks early- and she weighed in at six pounds and one ounce. Since then we have had heaps of fun with her, getting used to each other and making adjustments as necessary to get the best out of our new family circumstances.
Quite a lot of changes have happened since we last checked in. We moved out of our flat in Edinburgh and bought a new place in Bothwell, which is on the outskirts of Glasgow - about 8 miles from the centre. Alan began a contract working for a bank down in Knutsford near Manchester, so he's there Monday to Thursday and
Glasgow Botanical Gardens
One of the amazing Glasshouses towards the end of a lovely Spring day. works from home in Bothwell on a Friday. We are renting a gorgeous little cottage down in Knutsford for our use while we are down there as Shaz tries to join Alan every second week with Bethpops. Its really pretty down there - leafy and quaint and very cosmopolitan with heaps of trendy cafes, bars n restaurants. Unfortunately the smoking ban has not been imposed in England yet (due June this year) so its not ideal for taking Beth with us to eat out just yet.
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but so far we haven't been missing Edinburgh at all. Bothwell is so completely handy for everywhere; just off the M74 for us driving to Knutsford, close to all our family and most of our friends, handy for M8 to Edinburgh (on a good day we're there in 30 mins), 10 mins in car to Glasgow centre, train takes 15 mins to Glasgow, and we have an abundance of parks and activities close-by to keep us occupied. Not to mention some good bars and eateries just round the corner too.
It really didn't take us long to get into the swing of life
with our new baby girl. Beth is a really good baby most of the time, and although we haven't adopted a fixed sleep routine (we did try for 3 days and gave up as it just was NOT happening) we have more or less slotted into a get up late and go to bed late type affair with her. From 6 weeks old, Alan's mum and dad have been babysitting for us (MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and we have a set arrangement with them that they come over every Friday afternoon when Alan finishes his work, and they look after the wee one while we go out and take some quality time to ourselves. Admittedly, this quality time is usually spent hanging about in the pub! We normally go for a meal and then come home about midnight just as Beth is settling down for her big sleep. Our little joyous bundle will be 11 weeks this coming Tuesday and she is beginning to be lots and lots of fun. She smiles and laughs heaps now, is very alert and nosey, and is DESPERATE to walk. We take her everywhere with us and we've found that so far most places we have gone
into bar & restaurant wise, its been no bother for her to be with us. We just pop her in her pram and she goes to sleep with the motion, and she is completely social and hardly ever cries when we are out and about.
The weather over the last week or so has been brilliant and we've taken advantage of this, getting out & about for walks and visits to new places. We are re-discovering the area as we haven't lived here for about 15 years, and so many things have changed - definately for the better. We go into Glasgow West End quite a lot - it's fab, laid back, eclectic with a great vibe. The other week we went to see a band called 'The Amphetameanies' at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut - they are a Glasgow Ska Band who have been going for about ten years. We bought their vinyl album as a token reminder of our night as they were pretty mega.
Here are some links to good places that we've been to over the last few weeks:
OranMor A good bar in the West End
King Tuts One of
What a wee poser!
Our little daughter Beth, aged ten weeks old, posig in her pram while out for a walk! the best music venues in Glasgow. Small and intimate and they have Staropramen beer on tap - always a good sign!
Amphetameanies
Lux Restaurant A restaurant we went to last night actually. It was good, but a bit pricey - and as always, Shaz was adamant that she could have cooked the potatoes better herself.
Bothwell Castle A beautiful piece of history right on our doorstep. We visited here for the first time with some friends of ours - Chris, Norma and Lucy - who came to see us last weekend. Its a beautiful castle, and is well worth a visit if you are in the area. It's esp fabby right now as the daffodils are all in bloom and there is a stunning carpet of them which you have to drive through on approach.
Strathclyde Park This is a big park with a lake in the middle and lots of activities - very close to where we live, and a place that we have been frequenting with our bubba. Also - Alan is dead keen on taking out a some laser boats on the lake which are available
Andrew Maxwell - comedian Andrew Maxwell
Pretty Easter Eggs
Saw lots of these in a shop on Great Western Road and thought they looked pretty. was a comedian we went to see in the Fruitmarket ( a tremendous live venue in the Merchant City) a couple of weeks back at the Glasgow Comedy festival. He was really really funny and we recommend you go see him if you get the chance.
April and May are going to be quite busy months for us, activity wise. We've booked a trip to Paris with Beth, Shaz is going to the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh for a deluxe spa day with cousin Elly (to celebrate living through childbirth), we have tickets for a Datarock gig in Glasgow, and we also plan to go to Hamilton races - which is 5 mins drive from our house. In addition to this, we'll be up and down to Knutsford as usual and we're hoping to get in a visit to Wales as Shaz has never been ( thats a disgrace isn't it!), lus a few day trips here and there in the Midlands. We'll be posting updates of our escapades on here to keep track of our little adventures with our Mini Egg.
OK thats us for the moment, apart from one thing........... we just want to
say THANKYOU to all our friends and family who have been so kind to us since the birth of our daughter. We have been inundated with cards and gifts, and if you have given us something and you haven't yet received a thankyou card then dont worry - there's def one on its way - we just ran out!!!!
Cheerio,
Shaz, Al n Beth. xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Amanda
non-member comment
Easter Greetings
The new update is fab - Beth is definitely a "bonnie wee lass". Your comment about taking her everywhere made me smile - I'm glad you take her everywhere - I think she's a wee bit young to be home by herself!!! You two seem to be settling in to the parent thing just great. Congrats again. Amanda xx